not much bigger than fish bait

Some of the readers out there may be wondering whatever became of Sugarlips, the nice little white cat who made her appearance in the Chickenloaf Papers on June 25.

Well, here's the next chapter in that story:

Early Thursday morning she produced these four caterpillar-like things. There's a gray tabby one, a brown tabby one, a spotty one, and a blotchy one.

We call them her fish bait. That's about the size of them.

Sugarlips is exceeding proud of her fish bait.

And rightly so! Who wouldn't be pleased four nub-eared furry grubs with heads like drawer pulls and perfectly manicured little pink hands?

As Edsel has observed, they have no motor skills. One will be wobbling across the towel, and the next second ~ whoops he's over on this back! He wriggles with his legs paddling and carrot tail spinning like a rotor until Mothercat gives him a nudge.

Noonie! they yell. Smoots!

Whenever Mothercat gets up to get a little something to eat or stretch her legs, their rubbery squeals swell in a chorus of Oh no! Oh noooo!